Undead
The undead are a recurrent race in the Valkyrie Profile series, being normally the most common and sometimes the most deadly foes in the series. They are mentioned in all the games and are given the respective importance, being in the first Valkyrie Profile where they have a prominent effect in the game as being the majority of foes (if not all) that Lenneth must battle (as normal enemies and bosses). They have a lesser role in Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, but more importance in Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, as the protagonist is being aided by Niflheim which is the land of the dead, although this does not mean the player must not battle undeads. Overview The undeads are depicted not only as zombies or ghosts, but also as demons or manufactured beasts (such as those created from necromancy and/or alchemy) making their race to be even bigger and more prominent, in this sense basically every enemy is an undead, although the undeads is normally (and more correct used) to foes who are familiar with the Dark element and sometimes the Earth/Poison element, this does not mean that any other property is not undead. For example, the Harpies in the first game are refered as abominations by Lenneth, and her labour apart from recruiting and sending Einherjar is the purifying of souls and destruction of the undead, as Freya has explained before. Implying that, the Harpies (normally related to the Lightning element) can indeed be considered as undead. Another example is the Kraken, in the same game, when Lenneth disolves the seal of the water gate to reseal it, she said "from foul water, foul creatures" implying that the Kraken and the minor monsters can also be considered as undead. One of the defining traits of the undead is that they are unaffected by the flow of time. Characteristics The undead have certain characteristics which make them unique or easy to recognize. One fact is that some undeads (normally Vampires) have the ability to cast magic, this can be as the undead like the Valkyries, also prey on souls and absorb them, meaning that they grow stronger as they absorb souls, something that it is somehow mentioned in the first game, as some map descriptions, often mention the psychical energy (implying the spiritual power) meaning that in fact, enemies who can use spells, can be considered undead. Another characteristic to have in mind is the ability to steal life (damaging one character while restoring their own HP). Such abilities are normally depicted as Blood Stealing or Soul Stealing, although this rather depends on the game and the foe. Another common ability from the undead is that they can set the DME of a party member to 0 in one hit, with luck or with certain effectiveness. Status effect attacks are also a common sign of the undead, normally involving Poison or Stone. Some monsters can also summon more foes, this being normally considered a magical power or a special ability, but involving unnatural powers, hence it also implied that the undead who are between life and death have control over this power. It is also to note that as demons are also considered within the undead race, it is known that demons work in a system of hierarchy, in which lesser demons are merely servants of high-ranking demons and most be loyal to them, hence a high-ranking demon have power over them and can use them as they please. This applied to the ability of summoning, can also be understood as that a demon is using its servants, hence why the ability to summon, can also be considered a characteristic of the undead. Undead also have abilities that involve the resurrection of foes; if a player faces a monster which uses a resurrecting ability/spell, the enemy is most likely considered undead for their control of magic or unnatural abilities. Classification The undead race covers a vast ammount of different foes which can be classified in the following categories, each of them with unique characteristics. Corpses The most common kind of undead, they are normally depicted as zombies and skeletons. The corpse undead rely mostly in their physical capacities, they will normally use regular attacks or stronger physical attacks, few of them have added effects on their attacks, and even fewer have some knowledge of magic. They are normally slow and most of them aren't much of a threat, even though they normally come in big numbers. Spirits They are some of the most common kind of undead. They are shown as ghosts, specters, etc. They rely more on their status inflicting and elemental attack capacities rather than using physical means to harm their foes. Some of them have knowledge of magic, though most of them rely on their own unique elemental/status aliment attacks. Few of them show invulnerability towards normal attacks and can only be damaged (and severly) by elemental attacks, either on weapon or magic. They appear in great numbers as well, and are faster than the corpses. Vampires :Main article: Vampire Known as the most powerful undead alongside the demons. The vampires are fast fighters with magical and physical attacks, as well as their own status aliment powers and their best known ability to "drain blood" (regain HP). The vampires rely on their whole arsenal of attacks to deal massive damage upon the player, in fact some of them can deal both a normal attack and magic in one round of attacks. They are also know for their ability to summon (normally bats) to aid them. Given that they are within the highest ranks amongst the undead race, they normally come either alone or with their own servants. They are also incredibly faster when compared to the other undead. Demons :Main article: Demon Residing amidst the highest echelon of the undead, they are unsurpassed in terms of physical assault (be them elemental or status inflicting). While most incarnations have knowledge of magic, they are bested by vampires in magical prowess. Even though demons are normally high ranking undead, they are the undead which vary the most in ranking, as differently from the other undead classes, they show the widest ammount of rankings with lesser demons such as goblins and soldiers and more powerful demons such as ghouls or the gigantic eyeglobe foes. Demons are best known in the traditional culture as having a no lesser system of hierarchy as well, so the game featuring the same, is of little surprise and shows perfect resemblance with the demon kind. Notable undead Brahms :Main article: Brahms The most recurring of the "important" undead, he is known as the Lord of the Undead, as he is in fact, the strongest of the Undead. So much is his power that he can fight Odin in equal terms, anything regarding his past a mystery still not known or developed within the games. He is at the begining shown as a foe due that he is an undead and the strongest of his kind. However he is shown siding with the protagonists and helping them, (this being best shown in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria) implying that Brahms is by no means evil. He is also shown as a playable character, having incredible strength, HP and although a bit slow, his combos and attacks involve multiple hits, which make him effective at the time of filling the Heat Gauge up. His PWS/Soul Crush is Bloody Curse, a series of bloody-like punches exploding succesively on the foe. He is given as an undead the ability to steal life, although this works randomly. Genevieve :Main article: Genevieve She is a demoness witch who has apparently fought all the Valkyries through years. She has a somehow important role over the first game series (the only one in which she is shown). She is shown twice in the game, one being when the player will recruit Jayle, in which she is summoned by a sorcerer called Magnus from the court of Crell Monferaigne, who uses her power to kill the Knights from the same kingdom who attempted to defeat him as he was related with demonship. Before recruiting Jayle, the player must defeat Genevieve (although she has little HP at this time). After defeat the demoness says to Lenneth that they will meet again. Shall the player be playing in the Hardest difficulty of the game, it shall unlock the Celestial Castle dungeon in chapter 8 where Genevieve is the boss, with much more HP, stat boosts and with demons at her side. She is mainly a sorceress, whose favorite spell is Poison Blow, her staff having a skull at the top, and also can use physical attacks (implying she is different than normal sorcerers and more powerful than the commonfolk) as this matches perfectly with the characteristics described above, she is without a doubt an Undead. Her double in Seraphic Gate is Lich. Dragon Zombie :Main article: Dragon Zombie A recurrent foe within the Valkyrie Profile series, serving as both a boss and/or a powerful regular foe (or mini-boss as preferance). In the first game the Dragon Zombie is shown with high RDM who will get mainly 1 point of DMG unless weakened with Sap Guard or using more special weapons for his kind such as a Fire elemental weapon or a Dragon Slayer, etc. The Dragon Zombie is normally slow but has devastating offensive capacities for both single target and all targeting attacks, in the 2nd game he is the guardian of the Dragon Orb, this boss now shares the same defensive/offensive capacities than his predecesor, however it can be weakened if the Orbs around him are destroyed. This time also has more status aliment attacks which he used more commonly, it also uses HP draining attacks and the Earth Elemental Great Magic "Maleficent Harm" (or also known as the most powerful version of Poison Blow). The latter show that the Dragon Zombie has control over magic and the Poison/Earth elemental, implying he is a powerful Undead. Akhetamen :Main article: Akhetamen A powerful undead boss and king of his land (with egyptian characteristics) he is in fact an undead that looks exactly like a pharaoh, resting in a tomb where he has returned to life as an undead, it is assumed that his return and the manipulation of his servants (which are indeed undead) are due to the strong desire to have and rule his kingdom, a proof of this is when Lenneth faces the Undead she says she can only "hear the undead" and not the "devoted people" Akhetamen seems to visualize in his view. Although he is an undead (and proof being that he returned to life and that he has 2 Undead Slaves with him in battle) he unlike the rest of the Undead uses Seraphic Law, a Holy Elemental Magic for his Great Magic, although he uses Shadow Servant as his minor magic attack which is Dark elemental, so in reality, he is still within the normal characteristics that depict the Undead. His double in the Seraphic Gate is named Setkhefre. King Barbarossa :Main article: Barbarossa He is a King who appears in the first game as a "normal" human-looking king, but after paying a look to Lenneth, he is enraged as he is sure she is the Valkyrie who destroyed his kingdom and transforms into a Headless Armored Knight Undead (he is headless as he was beheaded when alive) he must be fought twice in a row to keep explorating the ruins of Dipan. A fact that he is undead apart that he has returned to life is that Lenneth herself and the map description acknowledge the "strong presence of Undeads". The real life of Barbarossa is best shown in the 2nd game although he is still shown in the first game when Lenneth goes to the past. She finds that Barbarossa was doing research on eternity which was forbidden by the gods and hence how his kingdom was destroyed by Hrist and her Einherjars. In the 2nd game he is shown researching forbidden magic and a way to oppose the gods and free the people from Odin's tyranny, in both he is considered as an honorable king who died trying the best for his people but cruelly manipulated by his "until then" loyal men known as the Three Mages. Barbarossa's importance in the 2nd game dies as soon as he does, however in Lenneth's case when he reaches to his corpse and "head" to make sure he died like a "king" with his crown made Lenneth hold him and his bonds with the Queen making her able to return to his time to return his crown to Barbarossa so he could rest in peace knowing that Lenneth had nothing to do with his death. Although in the 2nd game he is shown with his crown when executed. Three Mages of Dipan :Main article: Walther, Gyne, Dallas They are Walther, Gyne/Dyne and Dallas. They are the known Three Mages of Dipan who were supposed to be the most loyal and best servants of Barbarossa, who in reality turned against him for their own sake. In the first game they are specters which Lenneth sense after returning his crown to Barbarossa who she knows died in a terrible way after being tricked and who she swears will clean his name by slaying the Three Mages, the 3 appear before Lenneth and treat her like a "goddess of fools" and of how they are gonna "dinner her". Lenneth and her Einherjar are successful in defeating the 3 mages, who show characteristics of indeed being undead. Even though they were "mages" in his previous life, they are responsibles of the Undead invasion in the ruins of Dipan, implying they can manipulate the Undead, as well the fact their magics are stronger than that of the normal foes. Gyne can resurrect his allies, Dallas can cast 2 spells per turn and Walther can use physical attacks apart from his spells, implying that all of them ar more powerful and so are considered indeed as Undead. Another proof that they are undead is that in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria. The 3 of them consume the Ghoul Powder, a medicine that can turn a living being into a Demon/Undead. One would normally lose consciousness after drinking it, but they just became evil but conscious and smart, another proof that they are above the normal and that their powers are abnormal, which can also be attributed as Undead. Alicia :Main article: Alicia Alicia consumes some Ghoul Powder, becoming and undead in order to enter Alfheim. She uses Rufus' Ring however to stave off the negative effects of it. She does not attempt to find any cure to it and remains an undead until she merges to become the Valkyrie and is subsequently reborn. Since Alicia's body is used to form the Valkyrie she too could be considered one of the undead. Category:Races